Jarabacoa Golf Dominican Republic

Ask for "Paso", the caddy master, and tell him you read about the course on our website.

He will give you a warm welcome, and is unlikely to charge you more than about 500 pesos [about £10 or US$14] for a round of 9 or 18, depending on how much time you have. jarabacoa-golf-course-Dominican Republic

Put a 250 or 400 peso (£5/$7 or £8/$12) caddy fee on top of that and you get pretty good value for the all round experience.

jarabacoa-golf-course-Dominican Republic Jarabacoa Golf Dominican Republic [cont]

While the caddies are more bag carriers than experts on distance, pace and slant of greens etc, they are usually very friendly and remember that they are very poor, so a few extra pesos never goes amiss!

The course starts with a tight 140 yard par 3, followed by quite a tight par 4 with an elevated green.

Make sure your approach shot is precise. The drastic dog leg right par 4 third is a good hole. If you are brave, high and long you can hit just straight over the trees to your right, about a 200 yard carry with a high long or driving iron.

The fourth is a charming 155 yard par 3 with a gully between tee and green, and the par 5 fifth is long and straight, with the pine forest on either side.

There are two par fives - pretty good for a modest nine-holer, and there is water at the end of the fifth hole.

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Above: Jarabacoa 1st green

Jarabacoa Golf Dominican Republic [cont]

After the water stop, the par 4 sixth is a fairly short down-hiller. At about 280 yards, long hitters will be able to reach the green, but make sure you place your tee shot to the right hand side of the fairway to allow for the the right to left downward slope.

The par four seventh is a tough right to left dog leg. Ideally you need to draw your tee shot around the pine forest hugging the left hand side of the fairway. But overcook it and you will be taking 3 from the tee. My advice would be to take a 3-wood and then go for a long iron into the gree. Make sure yo uhave enought club, the approach shot is deceptively long. Jarabacoa Golf Dominican Republic [cont]

You can really open your shoulders at the par 4 eighth. Then it is a mid-iron into a slightly raised green that like most of the other greens on the course is difficult to hold. The par 5 ninth is a great hole. Take 2 minutes on the tee to savour the uphill view of the hills beyond, then again open your shoulders and try to scale the hill with your drive so that your second is hit from the brow of the hill rather than from the slope. Unless you are a very long hitter you will need to hit your second into the dip before the green, then it's a short iron up to the raised green.

The course is not that long, but many of the holes are quite tight, and the greens are difficult to hold. So you need to be fairly straight on most holes (I never scored well there!) and your shot into the green needs to be precise.

Whether you are doing 9 or 18, and depending on the time of day, chill out with a Dominican coffee or a cold "Presidente" beer afterwards, and you'll go home one satisfied golfer.

Jarabacoa Golf Dominican Republic [cont]

Above: Jarabacoa 6th green

Address:

Quintas de Primavera
La Vega Province - Centre
Telephone (809) 573-2474

Directions: drive toward Jarabacoa from the autopista, and prior to getting to Jarabacoa turn left at the signs for Salto Jimenoa and Campa de Golf, turn left again at the Salto and Campo signs, and go about a half mile. The entrance is on your left.